Conor McAleny

He made his debut the following day, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute for Jordan Robertson in a 0–0 home draw with Notts County.

A knee injury saw him make just three appearances for the club.

The next day, he made his debut as a 74th-minute substitute replacing Morgan Fox in a 2–1 home defeat to Huddersfield Town.

On 23 September, he made his first start in a 4–1 League Cup away defeat to Crystal Palace.

He was replaced by Tony Watt in the 75th minute.

Conor Michael McAleny (born 12 August 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for club Salford City.

He is a product of the Everton academy.

He joined Everton as an 11-year-old and made his debut for the club's youth team in a 1–0 Premier Academy League win over Tottenham Hotspur on 25 August 2007, replacing Lewis Codling after 65 minutes.

He became a full-time member of the club's academy in 2008, at age 17, making regular appearances for the youth team during the 2008–09 season, and received his first call up to the reserve team for a Premier Reserve League North match against rivals Liverpool on 17 February 2009; he remained on the bench for the 1–1 draw.

McAleny broke into the reserve team during the 2009–10 season, making his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Manchester United on 6 October, replacing Jose Baxter after 61 minutes.

His form for the youth and reserve teams saw him awarded his first call into the first-team squad for a dead rubber Europa League group match versus BATE Borisov on 17 December.

Awarded the number 40 shirt, McAleny was named on the bench in a youthful squad, but did not make an appearance in the 1–0 defeat.

He finished the season with 26 appearances and 12 goals for the youth team.

McAleny received his first call up for a Premier League match versus Aston Villa on 2 April 2011.

Awarded the number 31 shirt, he remained on the bench for the 2–2 draw, and was included in the squad again for a 3–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the following game.

McAleny made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute for Phil Neville in a 1–0 league defeat away to Arsenal on 10 December 2011, nearly scoring with a volley.

He made his first home appearance in the following game, coming on for Louis Saha in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City.

McAleny signed a new two-year contract in the summer of 2012.

No longer eligible for the youth team, he played exclusively for the reserve team during the 2012–13 season, though ankle and ligament injuries hindered his progress.

On 23 March 2012, McAleny joined League One side Scunthorpe United on loan for the remainder of the season.

On 25 July 2013, he joined League One side Brentford on loan until 6 January 2014, linking up with former Everton teammates Adam Forshaw and Jake Bidwell.

On 24 August, in only his fourth appearance for the club, he broke his leg in a clash with Walsall's Adam Chambers.

On 2 September, Brentford announced that the loan arrangement had been brought to an early end, as McAleny was expected to miss most of the 2013–14 season.

Brentford manager Uwe Rosler said that he would be "a big miss, he would be welcome back any time".

After spending much of the first half of the 2013–14 season out with a broken leg, McAleny received his first call into the first-team squad in over two years, when he was named as a substitute for an FA Cup fourth round tie versus Stevenage on 25 January 2014.

He remained on the bench for the 4–0 victory.

He also returned to reserve team action, scoring three goals in two games in March.

Having come to the end of his contract, McAleny was offered a new deal at the end of the season.

On 1 July, it was announced that McAleny had signed a new three-year contract, after being assured he was part of manager Roberto Martínez's plans.

McAleny attracted further transfer interest from the Bees in March and June 2014.

On 2 February 2015, McAleny joined Championship side Cardiff City on loan until the end of the season.

On 3 March he scored his first professional goal, in a 3–1 win at Rotherham United.

He scored again on 4 April, set up by Aron Gunnarsson, to equalise in a 1–1 draw against Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

Cardiff manager Russell Slade praised McAleny for the manner in which he scored, saying there weren't many players who could have scored it.

Tactically, Slade used him in at tip of the midfield diamond in a 4–4–2, allowing McAleny to impress with his quick feet, vision and ability to find a pass.

On 14 September 2015, he joined Championship side Charlton Athletic on loan until 7 November.

While at Everton, he spent time on loan at Football League teams Scunthorpe United, Brentford, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic, and Oxford United, before leaving on a permanent basis in 2017 to join Fleetwood Town.

He enjoyed little success at Fleetwood, and spent time out on loan at Scottish club Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury Town.

He joined Oldham Athletic in 2020, spending a year at the club and scoring 21 goals before departing for Salford.

McAleny was born in Prescot, Merseyside.